Factors predicting menstrual irregularity among university students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: A cross-sectional study.

Background: University students often face menstrual irregularities, particularly among healthcare students, due to rigorous study environments, such as night duties resembling professional staff responsibilities. Objective: This study aimed to examine the prevalence of and factors predicting menstrual irregularities among female students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to July 2023 at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City (UMP). Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires comprising sections on personal background, menstrual cycles, sleep duration, and academic stress. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression were employed for data analysis. Results: Approximately 48.3% of participants experienced menstrual irregularities. Overweight or obese students were more likely to experience irregularities compared to those of normal weight (AOR = 7.56, 95% CI = 1.34, 80.8). Nursing majors (including nursing, midwifery, and anesthesia resuscitation nursing) showed a higher likelihood of irregularities compared to other majors (AOR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.35, 4.13). Conclusion: This study highlights a significant prevalence of menstrual irregularities among female students. Interventions in nursing education should focus on promoting healthy lifestyles and regular physical activity to manage weight and mitigate menstrual irregularities.

Generation of parthenocarpic tomato plants in multiple elite cultivars using the CRISPR/Cas9 system.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most important crops in the world for its fruit production. Advances in cutting-edge techniques have enabled the development of numerous critical traits related to the quality and quantity of tomatoes. Genetic engineering techniques, such as gene transformation and gene editing, have emerged as powerful tools for generating new plant varieties with superior traits. In this study, we induced parthenocarpic traits in a population of elite tomato (ET) lines. At first, the adaptability of ET lines to genetic transformation was evaluated to identify the best-performing lines by transforming the SlANT1 gene overexpression cassette and then later used to produce the SlIAA9 knockout lines using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. ET5 and ET8 emerged as excellent materials for these techniques and showed higher efficiency. Typical phenotypes of knockout sliaa9 were clearly visible in G0 and G1 plants, in which simple leaves and parthenocarpic fruits were observed. The high efficiency of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in developing new tomato varieties with desired traits in a short period was demonstrated by generating T-DNA-free homozygous sliaa9 knockout plants in the G1 generation. Additionally, a simple artificial fertilization method was successfully applied to recover seed production from parthenocarpic plants, securing the use of these varieties as breeding materials. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11032-024-01452-1.

Phosphorylation of the auxin signaling transcriptional repressor IAA15 by MPKs is required for the suppression of root development under drought stress in Arabidopsis.

Since plants are sessile organisms, developmental plasticity in response to environmental stresses is essential for their survival. Upon exposure to drought, lateral root development is suppressed to induce drought tolerance. However, the molecular mechanism by which the development of lateral roots is inhibited by drought is largely unknown. In this study, the auxin signaling repressor IAA15 was identified as a novel substrate of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MPKs) and was shown to suppress lateral root development in response to drought through stabilization by phosphorylation. Both MPK3 and MPK6 directly phosphorylated IAA15 at the Ser-2 and Thr-28 residues. Transgenic plants overexpressing a phospho-mimicking mutant of IAA15 (IAA15DD OX) showed reduced lateral root development due to a higher accumulation of IAA15. In addition, MPK-mediated phosphorylation strongly increased the stability of IAA15 through the inhibition of polyubiquitination. Furthermore, IAA15DD OX plants showed the transcriptional downregulation of two key transcription factors LBD16 and LBD29, responsible for lateral root development. Overall, this study provides the molecular mechanism that explains the significance of the MPK-Aux/IAA module in suppressing lateral root development in response to drought.

Naringenin Induces Pathogen Resistance Against Pseudomonas syringae Through the Activation of NPR1 in Arabidopsis.

Flavonoids are well known for the coloration of plant organs to protect UV and ROS and to attract pollinators as well. Flavonoids also play roles in many aspects of physiological processes including pathogen resistance. However, the molecular mechanism to explain how flavonoids play roles in pathogen resistance was not extensively studied. In this study, we investigated how naringenin, the first intermediate molecule of the flavonoid biosynthesis, functions as an activator of pathogen resistances. The transcript levels of two pathogenesis-related (PR) genes were increased by the treatment with naringenin in Arabidopsis. Interestingly, we found that naringenin triggers the monomerization and nuclear translocation of non-expressor of pathogenesis-related genes 1 (NPR1) that is a transcriptional coactivator of PR gene expression. Naringenin can induce the accumulation of salicylic acid (SA) that is required for the monomerization of NPR1. Furthermore, naringenin activates MPK6 and MPK3 in ROS-dependent, but SA-independent manners. By using a MEK inhibitor, we showed that the activation of a MAPK cascade by naringenin is also required for the monomerization of NPR1. These results suggest that the pathogen resistance by naringenin is mediated by the MAPK- and SA-dependent activation of NPR1 in Arabidopsis.

Early Essential Newborn Care can still be used with mothers who have COVID-19 if effective infection control measures are applied.

We describe the first infant born to a woman with COVID-19 in Vietnam, by Caesarean section at 36 weeks and 5 days of gestation. The mother and baby remained together during their hospital stay and prolonged skin-to-skin contact and early and exclusive breastfeeding were achieved. This was in line with the World Health Organization's Early Essential Newborn Care (EENC) recommendations, the national Vietnamese standard of care since 2014. The baby remained virus-free throughout the 34-day postpartum follow-up. CONCLUSION: The EENC approach can still be used with mothers who have COVID-19 if effective infection control measures are applied.

Barriers to exclusive breastfeeding: A cross-sectional study among mothers in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding provides numerous benefits to the health of infants, mothers, economics, and the environment. However, during the exclusive breastfeeding period, the mothers face many barriers. Objective: This study aimed to describe the perceived barrier of breastfeeding and compare its differences among mothers in Vietnam according to demographic and individual characteristics. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 246 women in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Data were derived from the original survey using a self-administered questionnaire asking about the barriers of breastfeeding in three aspects: maternal, infant, and socio-environment. Descriptive statistics, Independent t-test, and ANOVA were used to describe the mothers' characteristics and the breastfeeding barriers. Results: The barrier from the infants was the most noticeable, followed by socio-environment and maternal barriers, respectively. Breastfeeding in public places (M = 2.93, SD = 0.92), baby's illness (M = 2.74, SD = 0.99), and insufficient milk supply (M = 2.70, SD =0.99) were considered as major barriers to six-month exclusive breastfeeding among mothers in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Among the age groups, mothers who were more than 35 years old perceived had lower breastfeeding barriers than the younger mothers (F = 3.67, p = 0.03). Conclusion: The investigation of the barriers against exclusive breastfeeding practice can help nurses and midwives develop breastfeeding promotion programs to promote exclusive breastfeeding rate for women in Vietnam.

A Gain-of-Function Mutant of IAA15 Inhibits Lateral Root Development by Transcriptional Repression of LBD Genes in Arabidopsis.

Lateral root development is known to be regulated by Aux/IAA-ARF modules in Arabidopsis thaliana. As components, several Aux/IAAs have participated in these Aux/IAA-ARF modules. In this study, to identify the biological function of IAA15 in plant developments, transgenic plant overexpressing the gain-of-function mutant of IAA15 (IAA15P75S OX) under the control of dexamethasone (DEX) inducible promoter, in which IAA15 protein was mutated by changing Pro-75 residue to Ser at the degron motif in conserved domain II, was constructed. As a result, we found that IAA15P75S OX plants show a decreased number of lateral roots. Coincidently, IAA15 promoter-GUS reporter analysis revealed that IAA15 transcripts were highly detected in all stages of developing lateral root tissues. It was also verified that the IAA15P75S protein is strongly stabilized against proteasome-mediated protein degradation by inhibiting its poly-ubiquitination, resulting in the transcriptional repression of auxin-responsive genes. In particular, transcript levels of LBD16 and LBD29, which are positive regulators of lateral root formation, dramatically repressed in IAA15P75S OX plants. Furthermore, it was elucidated that IAA15 interacts with ARF7 and ARF19 and binds to the promoters of LBD16 and LBD29, strongly suggesting that IAA15 represses lateral root formation through the transcriptional suppression of LBD16 and LBD29 by inhibiting ARF7 and ARF19 activity. Taken together, this study suggests that IAA15 also plays a key negative role in lateral root formation as a component of Aux/IAA-ARF modules.